Summary: Let’s look at the cosplay festival that is Campaign 2020, as the candidates pretend to be what they are not. Their voting records tell the true tale to those that listen.
Dazzled by our glorious revolutionary future.
The presidential election of 2020 is a costume drama, with the candidates all wearing masks. Trump pretends to be a populist, behind which is the standard GOP team (who have run their standard policies: tax cuts for the rich, deregulation of corporations, waving anti-trust to build cartels, crushing unions, etc.).
The Democratic Party’s candidates play more elaborate cosplay games. Sanders runs as everybody’s grandfather. Warren runs as Professor Fixit, with a plan for every problem. Biden and Amy Klobuchar pretend to be moderates. The key to understanding what comes after one of them wins is knowing the political views of their staffs. That is important, so we cannot be told. I will bet they are mostly hardcore social justice warriors, with dreams of remaking American society in ways unmentionable on the campaign trail.
The exception is Pete Buttigieg (for 8 years mayor of the 288th largest city in the US), running as a blank slate on which people project their dreams. If successful, this might become the preferred way for our elites to fool us in elections.
Journalists and political experts describe the Democrat’s presidential candidates as “progressive” or “left” and moderates. Even the Editors of the WaPo say that is false:
“It has become an unchecked assumption about the Democratic presidential race: The candidates are fighting an ideological war between ‘left’ and ‘center.’ This narrative is false …Yes, some candidates in the race are to the left of others. …
“Their proposals would cost more and would require more regulation than other candidates’ plans. Mr. Sanders’s program, which includes the Medicare-for-all plan that Ms. Warren has endorsed, would cost some $60 trillion to $90 trillion over 10 years, an astonishing number that would imply doubling the size of the federal government. …But the fact that Mr. Sanders’s and Ms. Warren’s positioning puts them decidedly to the left of others in the race does not make their competitors ‘centrist.’ All, in fact, have put forward ambitious, progressive platforms for reducing inequality and promoting access to health and education. …
“In fact, every major Democratic candidate is running on an agenda to the left of Mr. Obama’s.”
But we need not rely on the WaPo’s editors. Both Left and Right have groups that track voting records of officials. The rating systems differ slightly, but the overall picture shows that the Democrat’s major candidates are all Leftists.
ProPublica.
Their website compares the voting record of Senators in the 115th Congress (2017 – 2018).
- Sanders vs. Klobuchar: agree on 77% of votes.
- Sanders vs. Warren: agree 93%.
- Klobuchar vs. Warren: agree 80%.
- See the voting records of Sanders, Klobuchar, and Warren.
Americans for Democratic Action.
See their Legislative Voting record reports for 2017 and 2018. The average score for Democratic Senators was 89% in both 2017 and 2018. See their database for more information. This is the only moderate rating I have found for Biden.
- Sanders: 95% in 2017 and 100% in 2018, designated an “ADA Hero” in 2018.
- Klobuchar: 100% in 2017 and 95% in 2018, designated an “ADA Hero” in 2017.
- Warren: 100% in 2017 and 100% in 2018, designated an “ADA Hero” in 2018.
- Biden: 75% in 2007 and 80% in 2008. Average for Democratic senators was 87% in 2007 and 90% in 2008.
Progressive Punch.
From their website. See their lifetime ratings.
- Sanders: 97, #8 in the Senate.
- Klobuchar: 90, #29 in the Senate.
- Warren: 98, #2 in the Senate.
American Conservative Union.
From their database.
- Sanders: 0% in 2017 and 9% in 2018, lifetime rating of 7%.
- Klobuchar: 0% in 2017 and 5% in 2018, lifetime rating of 5%.
- Warren: 0% in 2017 and 9% in 2018, lifetime rating of 4%.
- Biden: 0% in 2007 and 0% in 2008.
National Taxpayers Union.
- Sanders: 8% (“F”) in 2017 and 31% (“D”) in 2018 – details.
- Klobuchar: 1% (“F”) in 2017 and 16% (“F”) in 2018 – details.
- Warren: 5% (“F”) in 2017 and 31% (“D”) in 2018 – details.
- Biden: 4% (“F”) in 2007 and 2% (“D”) in 2008 – details.
These ratings are consistent over their careers.
Club for Growth.
From their database.
- Sanders: 4% in 2017 and 26% in 2018, lifetime rating of 9%.
- Klobuchar: 0% in 2017 and 5% in 2018, lifetime rating of 5%.
- Warren: 4% in 2017 and 19% in 2018, lifetime rating of 12%.
- Biden: 0% in 2007 and 0% in 2008, lifetime rating of 0%.
Govtrack.
From their website. Looking at “ideology scores” for the 115th Congress (2017 – 2018). Loved by the NYT and San Francisco Chronicle.
- Sanders: 0.01 rating, second-most Left in the Senate.
- Klobuchar: 0.32 rating, 33rd most Left in the Senate.
- Warren: 0.15 rating, 13th most Left in the Senate.
How did this happen?
The Democratic Party has shifted far to the Left while the GOP remains little changed.
- “What Happened to America’s Political Center of Gravity?” by Sahil Chinoy in the NY Times, June 2019. Buries the lede. See the graph deep in the article showing how both parties have shifted over time. The “median” is by comparison to western european parties (as if we care about them).
- Gallup found the same shifts: “Understanding Shifts in Democratic Party Ideology“, February 2019.
- The bien pensant liberals at FiveThirtyEight found the same shift: “Why The Democrats Have Shifted Left Over The Last 30 Years” by Maddie Sach, December 2019.
Rely on the NY Times to lie the boldest
He’s not kidding.
The Left is desperate to hide its plans. My favorite is Paul Krugman – brilliant economist, political hack – who comes out with “Bernie Sanders Isn’t a Socialist, but he plays one on TV. That’s a problem.” Krugman believes Sanders would make a good president, but that Sanders is so stupid that he falsely calls himself a “socialist.”
This is not difficult to disprove. Sanders has run for office under many banners, including the socialist Liberty Union and Vermont Progressive Parties. He described himself as a socialist when Mayor of Burlington (1981-1989). And he does so today (e.g., here, here).
If elected, he says that one of his first acts will be a government takeover of health care sector – a big first bite taking 18% of the US economy. He also plans a massive expansion of the government’s share in the electricity generation industry (5% of GDP). Plus a massive expansion of government spending on top of all that.
For more information
See Deroy Murdock’s article at National Review: “Democrats’ ‘Moderate Lane’ Is Clogged with Left-Liberals.”
Ideas! For some shopping ideas see my recommended books and films at Amazon. Also, see a story about our future: Ultra Violence: Tales from Venus.
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts about ways to reform America, about the Left-wing, about the Right-wing, and especially these…
- The Left goes full open borders, changing America forever.
- Visions of America if the Left wins.
- The key insight: the Left hates America and will destroy it.
- The Left can win in 2020 and dominate US politics.
- The middle in American politics has died. Now extremists rule.
- Glimpses of the political revolution just starting.
- About the slow-mo revolution by the Left.
- Vote for your ideal figurehead in 2020!
- Triumph of the Left over the liberals who nurtured them.
One of the big textbooks for radicals
Rules for Radicals:
A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals
.
By Saul D. Alinsky (1971).
From the publisher …
“Rules for Radicals is Saul Alinsky’s impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know “the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one.” Written in the midst of radical political developments whose direction Alinsky was one of the first to question, this volume exhibits his style at its best.
“Like Thomas Paine before him, Alinsky was able to combine, both in his person and his writing, the intensity of political engagement with an absolute insistence on rational political discourse and adherence to the American democratic tradition.”
Yep, not one is a moderate. Period!
The entire thing happening to America today is called the “Brazilification of America” (or any society). Here is how it works: you eliminate middle class and create an aristocracy/oligarchy at create an aristocracy of uber-rich on very top that controls everyone else who is basically poor and dependant. They call this elite the “intellectualized technocratic elite”. They know better. You obey!
Steps:
1) Squeeze middle class financially until they vanish it into poverty or become so small that it is irrelevant politically. Place incredible tax burdens on the middle class so they do not qualify for welfare support of any kind. Eliminate taxes on poor and place extra low taxes on the rich and corporations; raise energy prices with “green initiatives”; mass export jobs to China/SE Asia afterwards.
2) Create fear, by opening up prisons, ban guns, decriminalize drugs, and make the public hate the police, lower policy salaries, so only people who want to be cops are people who want to be corrupt, basically.
3) Change the national population composition and create disunity, so no one trusts anyone else. Start by opening up the borders, free abortions available anywhere, anytime. Use media to mock and make religion irrelevant and un-cool.
If you population change is too slow, then make the cost of having a child astronomical.
Daycare in my area here (in the USA) is a “monthly membership” whether you drop your
kid off or not at all still costs $1,200. That only covers Mon-Fri 9am to 4:30pm hours. Cost does not cover “snack time” and “activity supplies”. Any additional time is extra per hour, so if you work 8am-5pm, and your kid needs to be there at least 7am and pick-up at 6pm? Get ready to cough up at least another $400/month. Who can afford that? Might as well not work at all, it is cheaper.
They purposely made daycare and decent schooling un-affordable in Brazil over 20 years ago. Completely changed the population where birth rates outside of the favelas is essentially zero.
It is just amazing that the elimination of the middle class can happen in less than a generation and turn the society into an aristocracy where literally a tiny group controls the entire population via fear of crime, poverty, and misinformation. Everything the Dems are running in 2020 has been tested and implemented in Brazil successfully beyound your wildest dreams.
A Brazilified country is a George Soros dreamworld. It is the standard goal of EVERY SINGLE Democrat running nationally in 2020. No exceptions.
Mark my words. They will put hilary up at the last minute as a moderate. Larry. I will bet you a $10 donation that she will be P or VP on the Democrats ticket.
Sven,
“that she will be P or VP on the Democrats ticket.
In 1968, Hubert Humphrey was the last major party presidential candidate to not run in the primaries – 52 years ago. It’s not impossible for Hillary to become the D’s candidate, but the odds are microscopic.
As for VP – anything is possible. These are often made in a hasty and irrational manner, with little thought. Remember Sarah Palin. But I doubt that anyone believes that Hillary’s massive negatives bring anything good to a general election ticket. Esp with these candidates. Esp since nobody wants a more famous VP on the ticket.
This is hindsight bias – people tend to grossly overestimate the odds of the past repeating.
Sven,
I agree with this, but (of course) the odds are not “zero.”
“There’s Zero Chance Bloomberg Would Pick Hillary” by John Fund at National Review.
“I will bet they are mostly hardcore social justice warriors, with dreams of remaking American society in ways unmentionable on the campaign trial.”
I would argue that the social justice warriors ( especially Warren, Biden and Klobuchar) are primarily interested in remaking/paralyzing and demoralizing average Americans through charges of racism, sexism and gender bias, while maintaining their own individual bases of power( primarily through virtue-signaling), with their masks largely being their respective proposals/policies calling for various types of structural tinkering.
They want to rule and presently are ruling primarily through humiliation and confession (you pathetic, ignorant, racist, sexist, deplorables–become more like us and we may let you have a few economic crumbs and an occasional pat on the head).
My guess is that our electorate and our leadership factions are now full of rage and anxious to break the taboos of civility and reason.
Politics an can never be reduced to policies–it always includes the mobilization of passions.
Aw, come on, Larry. We got black Leftists, white Leftists, Asian Leftists, we got gay Leftists, straight Leftists, hot Leftists, cold Letfists, young Leftists, old Leftists. You buy a Leftist, and we throw in a second Leftist of equal or lesser value for free.
On a more serious note, I wonder if the party establishment unites behind the Leftist most likely to take good care of the one percent. Maybe Bloomberg really can buy this thing.
The Man,
I remember that joke about the Clinton administration. He had a diverse staff, with leftist lawyers of every color, ethnicity, and creed.
“I wonder if the party establishment unites behind the Leftist most likely to take good care of the one percent.”
I too have wondered about that. The secret of US politics since FDR, perhaps forever, is that the two parties represent two factions of our ruling elites. Would a Sanders administration bread that pattern? Or would their socialist program take a back seat to the leftist social engineering of little interest to the 1%?
Well, when every Democratic candidate pledges that American taxpayers will pay the healthcare bills of everyone on the planet who shows up at the border . . . it’s hard to even comprehend just how far we would have to expand the sensible-to-batshit-crazy spectrum of policy proposals to find room to slot that one in. After that bombshell I can’t be moved to react to anything these clowns say. It’s like the old saw: “other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”
But I wouldn’t put the change decades back. In fact, the democratic party shifted right pretty dramatically after Mondale 84 in ways that have been well documented, leading to the “republican-lite” policies of the Clinton admin and early 2000s through Obama’s 1st term.
The big, big inflection point is around the beginning of Obama’s 2nd term, where you see dramatic shifts in Democrat opinion polls across a range of issues (along with an increase in reported mental health problems among college kids). The “great awokening” as it’s been dubbed (https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18259865/great-awokening-white-liberals-race-polling-trump-2020), and we’re living in it. It’s a major component of clown world. So far I haven’t heard a good single factor explanation, other than a vague sense that it has something to do with smartphones and social media. Some of it is probably pent-up frustration at the ongoing failures of the civil rights movement expressed as a doubling down on the failures (just as the answer to the failures of communism is always “more communism”). Some of it is probably a re-channeling of religious impulses as the long-run secularization of America continues. Some unholy synergy of all of the above?
It’s by far the single most important social science question at the present moment.
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